Batzer Sparkles, Pippins Sweep Drifters in Quick-Paced Contest
Published on August 1, 2025 under West Coast League (WCL)
Yakima Valley Pippins News Release
YAKIMA, Washington - Yakima Valley dug the brooms out of the closet for the first time this season, clinching a home sweep of the Springfield Drifters with a quick 5-4 victory Thursday night. Connor Batzer twirled a gem in the two-hour, 11-minute contest, striking out six Drifters over seven innings of work.
In the middle innings, Batzer was near-perfect. Batzer set down 11 batters in a row, starting with a strikeout to end the third inning. The next nine hitters had no success either, as Batzer picked up another strikeout, induced five flyouts, two lineouts, and a pair of groundouts. To start the seventh inning, Batzer picked up one more flyout to left field, before allowing a single to Nolan Miller. His outing concluded with a strikeout of Daichi Furuhata, Batzer's sixth of the night.
The Pippins got out to an early lead behind Batzer, striking for three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Ethan Buckley, a late addition to the starting lineup, led off the frame with a single. With one out, Sam Moore and Dustin Doherty followed Buckley with back-to-back singles, bringing home Yakima Valley's first baseman. A fourth straight hit followed, as Garren Gooler doubled to bring home Moore. Brodie Geohagan hit next, poking a sacrifice fly to score Doherty, giving Yakima Valley a 3-0 lead.
Insurance runs crossed the plate after the seventh inning stretch. With one out, Geohagan singled before advancing to second on the first error of the game on Drifters' pitcher Diego Carrillo. Zech Samayoa and Nolan Rowe reached with two outs on errors by Nolan Miller and Furuhata. Buckley capped the inning off with his second single of the game, making the score 5-0.
The Drifters had one last gasp of air in the top of the ninth. Facing Pippins' reliever Christian Brewster with one out, the Drifters put together three straight singles. Bryant Starr, Cooper Mullens, and Miller all scored after their hits, making it a one-run game 5-4. Brewster rebounded with a sacrifice fly to earn the second out before striking out pinch-hitter Logan Honma to end the game.
Pippins pitching did not walk a batter, with Batzer and Brewster combining for 10 strikeouts. Batzer earned the win to improve to 2-4 this season. Springfield's Castillo, despite a seven-inning outing of his own, takes the loss to fall to 2-1 this season.
Yakima Valley earns its first series sweep this season to improve to 6-15 in the second half, and 13-25 this summer. Springfield loses its fourth straight game, falling to 9-12 in the second half and 21-27 this season.
The Pippins take a three-game winning streak on the road to Longview, beginning a three-game series with the Cowlitz Black Bears starting on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Saturday's second game will also start at 6:35 p.m., before Sunday's series finale starts at 6:05 p.m.
Yakima Valley returns home to end the regular season beginning Monday for three games against the Ridgefield Raptors. The season wraps up Wednesday with Fan Appreciation Night, featuring a Scott T. Pippin bobblehead giveaway for the first 1,000 fans. Tickets for the last three games at The Orchard are available at www.pippinsbaseball.com/tickets, the only official ticketing link of the Yakima Valley Pippins.
West Coast League Stories from August 1, 2025
- AppleSox Drop Opening Game Against Bellingham - Wenatchee AppleSox
- Cats' Bats Go Cold in Loss to Lefties - Victoria HabourCats
- Batzer Sparkles, Pippins Sweep Drifters in Quick-Paced Contest - Yakima Valley Pippins
- Cats Complete Sweep with Dominant Win - Victoria HabourCats
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
